MIKE PENCE/POLITICS: “Vice President Mike Pence declared his loyalty to President Trump on Sunday [8-6-17] and denounced a New York Times article suggesting that he was positioning himself to run for president in 2020 if Mr. Trump does not seek a second term.
‘Today’s article in The New York Times is disgraceful and offensive to me, my family and our entire team,’ the vice president said in a statement. ‘The allegations in this article are categorically false and represent just the latest attempt by the media to divide this administration.’
He added: ‘Whatever fake news may come our way, my entire team will continue to focus all our efforts to advance the president’s agenda and see him re-elected in 2020. Any suggestion otherwise is both laughable and absurd.’
Danielle Rhoades Ha, a Times spokeswoman, said in response: ‘We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting and will let the story speak for itself.’
The article reported that a number of Republicans appeared to be positioning themselves to run in 2020 as the president endures low poll numbers and faces multiple investigations into whether his associates had contacts with Russia during last year’s campaign. While some might take on the incumbent president of their own party, the article reported that multiple advisers to Mr. Pence had intimated to party donors that he would plan to run if Mr. Trump did not seek re-election.”
-Peter Baker, “Mike Pence Rejects Report That He Is Positioning for 2020,” The New York Times online, Aug. 6, 2017